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Inconsistency has Mattingly searching for answers

Inconsistency has Mattingly searching for answers

LOS ANGELES -- It's getting to the point where the Dodgers are becoming consistent at being inconsistent, and manager Don Mattingly doesn't have a reason for why that is.

In his 14 years as a player and two as a manager, Mattingly said he hasn't seen anything like this.

"It's been a little different, really," Mattingly said. "It feels like we've been a consistent club that gets ready to play and we pretty much have had consistent pitching for the most part. When you get that, you stay a little more consistent. The fact that we have put three [wins] here and then lose three and then win three is a little bit ... I don't know how to answer it."

Mattingly added he doesn't know if there is an answer and that it has been befuddling for him to watch.

After the All-Star break, the Dodgers went 2-4 at home against the Padres and Phillies. The team then showed promise sweeping the Mets in New York before losing three out of four in St. Louis.

Things were looking up again when the Dodgers swept rival San Francisco on the road, but then they lost three in a row to the D-backs at Dodger Stadium.

Sweeping the Cubs over the weekend kept the team on pace with the Giants, but they lost the first two games to the last-place Rockies entering Wednesday's series finale.

Things don't get easier for the Dodgers, who embark on a 10-game road trip starting Friday. They get three against the reeling Marlins, but then have to travel to Atlanta and Pittsburgh to take on two of the National League's best.